News
Three candidates have applied for the procedure for selection of financial intermediaries for the management of the Urban Development Funds for the 2021-2027 programming period
Three of the country's leading banks are interested in the instrument
Three applications have been received from the Fund of Funds (FoF) for the management of each of the three Urban Development Funds (UDFs) supported by the Regional Development Programme 2021-2027 (RDP) and the Competitiveness and Innovation in Enterprises Programme 2021-2027 (CIEP), co-financed by the European Union.
Two of the Urban Development Funds are for Northern Bulgaria (UDF North 1 and UDF North 2) and one for Southern Bulgaria (UDF South). The total public resources to be distributed among the three funds amount to over BGN 513 million (BGN 442.6 million under the RDP and BGN 70.9 million under the CIEP).
This is the third announced procedure for the selection of intermediaries by the FoF within the new programming period and three of the largest banks in the country have expressed interest for participation in the procedure individually or as part of a consortium, as follows:
- DZZD Fund for sustainable cities with participants in the consortium:
- FLAG Fund EAD
- Fund for Sustainable Urban Development EAD
- Bulgarian Consultancy Organisation EOOD
- United Bulgarian Bank AD
- DSK Bank AD
- Consortium Green and Smart Urban Development Fund with participants:
- UniCredit Bulbank AD
- Nord West Development Ltd.
The financial instrument will leverage private capital to the public resources made available by the two programmes, thereby improving access to finance for the final beneficiaries to implement investments contributing to the objectives and indicators of the two programmes.
The public resources for the instrument are provided through risk-sharing financing and an embedded/portfolio guarantee that covers the risk of loss on the funds provided by the financial intermediary.
The support to the final beneficiaries can take the form of investment and working capital loans and/or financial leasing and should be disbursed until the end of 2029.
For the first time, it is foreseen that grant financing with RDP funds will be provided by the intermediaries in combination with loan financing under the Instrument.
The RDP support targets public and private projects to promote the development of economic activity, sustainable urban mobility, improvement and development of health and social services, education, culture, sports and tourism, energy efficiency of public and residential buildings, green urban measures, etc.
The CIEP resources are targeted at investments by SMEs and mid-cap companies within and in functional proximity to new/existing industrial parks.
After the opening of applications, the candidates will be shortlisted based on compliance with the set selection criteria. Those admitted to the next stage in the selection process will be invited to submit initial offers.
More information is available on the Company's profile on the Public Procurement Register’s website at the following link: https://app.eop.bg/today/414647